Herbert Simon Quotes

A collection of quotes by Herbert Simon.

Herbert Simon (1916-2001) was an American social scientist and economist, known for his pioneering work in the fields of artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, and decision-making. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Simon demonstrated brilliance from an early age, graduating with a degree in political science and obtaining a Ph.D. in political science and economics from the University of Chicago.

Simon's groundbreaking contributions spanned various disciplines, including computer science, cognitive science, and philosophy. He played a pivotal role in establishing the field of artificial intelligence, proposing innovative concepts such as the logic theorist, a computer program capable of solving mathematical problems and proving theorems. He introduced the concept of bounded rationality, challenging the classical economic assumption of perfect rationality. This theory suggested that human decision-making is limited by cognitive constraints, leading individuals to make satisfactory choices rather than optimal ones.

Throughout his career, Simon received numerous accolades for his path-breaking work. In 1975, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, becoming the first social scientist to receive this honor. He was also an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Herbert Simon's intellectual legacy continues to shape our understanding of human cognition and decision-making processes. His interdisciplinary approach and innovative thinking greatly influenced subsequent research, leaving an indelible mark on fields ranging from economics and psychology to computer science and philosophy.

In the computer field, the moment of truth is a running prog

In the computer field, the moment of truth is a running program; all else is prophecy.

Truth Computers

The social sciences, I thought, needed the same kind of rigo

The social sciences, I thought, needed the same kind of rigor and the same mathematical underpinnings that had made the hard sciences so brilliantly successful.

Science

Technology may create a condition, but the questions are wha

Technology may create a condition, but the questions are what do we do about ourselves. We better understand ourselves pretty clearly and we better find ways to like ourselves.

Technology

Anything that gives us new knowledge gives us an opportunity

Anything that gives us new knowledge gives us an opportunity to be more rational.

Knowledge

Learning is any change in a system that produces a more or l

Learning is any change in a system that produces a more or less permanent change in its capacity for adapting to its environment.

Learning

Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting a

Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with how they might be - in short, with design.

Architecture

Human knowledge has been changing from the word go and peopl

Human knowledge has been changing from the word go and people in certain respects behave more rationally than they did when they didn't have it. They spend less time doing rain dances and more time seeding clouds.

Knowledge

The proper study of mankind is the science of design.

The proper study of mankind is the science of design.

Design

Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at chan

Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.

Design

I don't care how big and fast computers are, they're not as

I don't care how big and fast computers are, they're not as big and fast as the world.

Computers

What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the

What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.

Information

One of the first rules of science is if somebody delivers a

One of the first rules of science is if somebody delivers a secret weapon to you, you better use it.

Science

There are no morals about technology at all. Technology expa

There are no morals about technology at all. Technology expands our ways of thinking about things, expands our ways of doing things. If we're bad people we use technology for bad purposes and if we're good people we use it for good purposes.

Technology

Most of us really aren't horribly unique. There are 6 billio

Most of us really aren't horribly unique. There are 6 billion of us. Put 'em all in one room and very few would stand out as individuals. So maybe we ought to think of worth in terms of our ability to get along as a part of nature, rather than being the lords over nature.

Nature